Wired - Burning Question: How Much Computer Security Is Enough?

[FdmNews 0]

 

Put down that money order and step away from the Internet, sir. You could blow your kid's college fund on computer security doodads: biometric password protectors, remotely erasable hard drives, GPS tracking — every day, there's some new and irresistible offering for the paranoid. But what do you really need to protect your computer? Less than you think.

 

The gospel is familiar: An antivirus program paired with anti-spyware/malware measures will shield your PC from just about anything. In fact, the marketing of those products is so good that security apps are about the only software people still expect to pay for. But the best stuff doesn't cost a dime. Programs like AVG and Ad-Aware are free, and they won't hit you up for upgrades like the big security suites.

 

Those guardians are fine for Grandma's Gateway, but the truly savvy eschew them altogether. Even the most well-meaning program bogs down your box. And it's not hard to dodge infection; just abide by the basic tenets of Internet common sense: Don't click on mysterious email attachments, don't bother with the free pr0n, Ch3@p Vi@gr@, and Nigerian millions, and never open .exe files. Email is still one of the biggest infection vectors, so be cautious and use a good webmail service like Gmail, which automatically scans your messages. Don't leave your computer online when you're not on it. Beware of anything that immediately asks for personal information. Don't reuse passwords..........................

 

 

 

 

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[Schot 407]

Ah this one is for me, lol. Good boy Fetch.

 

Security software services may have had a legitimate place in the past but as far as I'm concerned now it's a big time scam. Scare tactic generated sales. Personally, I think a backup and net smarts are the way to go. For example just before clicking a link I hover my cursor over the link to identify where it is going to take me. When you hover over a link the location of where it will take you is displayed on the bottom bar to the left of your browser.

Occasional checks using free shareware like services is also something I do but an active scanner just complicates the use of other day to day software on my pc.